For centuries, wolves have roamed the mountain ranges of Andalucía in southern Spain, but after years of decline the creature has been officially declared extinct in the region.
Since 2003, the regional government has carried out a census of the wolf (Canis lupus signatus) population in an effort to monitor the species and reduce conflict with the local population, farmers in particular.
However, in a report, the Andalucian government’s environment department says that “since 2020 there has been no sign of the wolf being present in Andalucía”, in spite of it being a protected species.
Up until at least 2010 it was estimated there were six to eight wolfpacks in the region, mostly in the Sierra Morena, comprising up to 56 individuals.
Despite the wolf being declared extinct only now, experts say there has not been any evidence of wolves in Andalucía since 2013, and probably no reproductive group since 2003.
“This is bad news and it confirms the negative trend for the few existing wolfpacks in southern Spain, which are threatened through being physically and genetically isolated from wolves in the rest of Spain, by loss of habitat, poaching and illegal hunting,” said Luis Suárez, the conservation coordinator for the World Wildlife Fund in Spain.
I am no longer un chien Andalusia
What’s the difference between poaching and illegal hunting?
Illegal hunting might be considering nuisance licenses, in the us at least farmers are allowed to hunt “nuisance” creatures like foxes and coyotes and raccoons any time, except when those creatures are made a protected species under conservation efforts. You can’t just shoot endangered foxes even if they’re eating all your chickens
They are more or less synonyms
That’s sad but there’s plenty in the north so perhaps if the issues are resolved they’ll be able to repopulate.
The issues are the presence of people, the people aren’t going away anytime soon and when we do we’ll have likely rendered the area uninhabitable for the wolves as well